🍔 Before you use AI again, do this first

It’s a marvelous Monday, {{first_name | friend}}. Do you remember that one roommate who barely lifted a finger but still left the biggest impression, on your sleep, your fridge space and your electric bill? Same goes for an appliance in your home. It mostly sits there chowing down on your kilowatt hours. 

🏠 Can you guess what everyday household gadget uses the most electricity over the course of a year? Is it your: A) microwave, B) cable/streaming TV box, C) washing machine or D) laptop charger? Find the answer humming at the end. 

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You are going to love this. I know it. Why? Because we’ve all made this mistake.

You toss ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity or, God forbid, Siri a simple question, and it vomits slop. Or you tell it, “Write an email,” and out comes a mushy blob of corporate buzzwords.

If you want great results, you don’t just “prompt,” you build an AI sandwich. It’s a simple, repeatable recipe you can use every time. Four layers. No mystery meat.

Everyone skips this step, and it’s why they get lukewarm, C-average answers. Before you give the AI a task, you have to give it a role. You’re setting the stage:

Never start with the command. Start by giving AI a job.

Here’s the substance you want the AI to chew on, say your topic, your notes, text you want rewritten, a competitor’s article, anything. Examples:

This is where you finally say, “Here’s what I need.”

Finally, your finishing touch gives AI a little structure, a little flavor.

Constraints keep the AI from wandering off into Weirdville.

The Bad Prompt: “Write an email about our new product.” Yawn.

The AI Sandwich Prompt:
1. Top Bun: “You are a marketing expert writing an ad for Facebook. Your audience is busy but loyal. Your goal is to sound 100% human, not salesy.”
2. Meat: “Our new product is a time-tracking app.”
3. Sauce: “Give me three posts that highlight the #1 benefit, peace of mind, instead of listing features.”
4. Bottom Bun: “Use a casual, witty tone. End with one clear call to action.”

This is how you go from “meh” to “nailed it” in one shot.

💛 You’re the bun for me. If this gave you an “aha!” moment, pass it along to a friend who’s still fighting with their AI like it’s a stubborn toaster. Sharing is caring, and it might save someone from frustration or embarrassment. Use the icons below.

Keep your eyes open, AI is coming for your man. Chatbot affairs are ending real marriages. Plus, doctors vs. ChatGPT, AI clones for sale and how to rent out your gear for extra cash.

Listen on Komando.com →

📱 Bedtime rebellion: All that “blue light is ruining your life” talk might’ve been exaggerated. Research now says heavy bedtime screen users actually slept better than the moderate dabblers. Turns out it’s not the phone, it’s the content. If your nightly scroll is cozy instead of crazy, your sleep might be just fine. Me? I avoid the tiny screen blasting light into my eyeballs before going to sleep. 

Screenshot shield: Imagine sharing sensitive slides in a meeting and someone tries to screenshot. Now that window goes black. Microsoft’s new “Prevent Screen Capture” for Teams Premium stops screenshots and recordings on Windows and Android during selected meetings. Yes, you can still whip out your phone and snap the screen because nothing’s foolproof.

Designer baby drama: Sam Altman and his husband are funding Preventive, a startup aiming to gene-edit embryos to prevent inherited diseases, something illegal in the U.S. and most of the planet. They’ve raised $30M and will set up shop abroad to run trials. Critics warn of designer-baby territory, but investors say it’s the next medical revolution. I’m torn. I can’t decide if this is hope or a sci-fi plot. 

👁️ This is something: A grandma scrolls TikTok and sees a kid with the same heavy eyebrows as her granddaughter. Turns out the little girl has Sanfilippo, a childhood dementia with no cure. Lydia’s family has a $6 million fundraiser for enzyme therapy before brain damage starts. 

Space makeover time: Project Kuiper? That’s so 2024. Amazon rebranded the project to Amazon Leo, a nod to low-Earth orbit (LEO, get it?), where more than 150 of its planned 3,200 satellites are already floating. They’re bragging about space-beamed gigabit speeds and already signed JetBlue for souped-up inflight Wi-Fi. Looks like it’s Bezos vs. Musk: Round 47. 

🎙️ New “TV” looks different: The old TV talk-show polish (Oprah’s couch, Larry King’s glowing map) era is gone. Now, the biggest podcasts look intentionally effortless, like they just wandered in and hit record. You know, Joe Rogan’s wood paneling, Theo Von’s fake plants, Alex Cooper’s slumber aesthetic. It’s all carefully curated to feel personal where you can be “friends.”

💛 One thing I’m excited to share: I’m always looking for ways to make life easier and healthier. That’s why my expert team developed ImproveLife GLP-1 Support. It’s designed to manage cravings, support a healthy metabolism and maintain steady energy levels without relying on caffeine or stimulants. Btw, I can’t drink coffee because I am so sensitive to caffeine. Click here to get up to 33% off plus free shipping. I take it every day.**

Want to know who’s watching your driveway? I’ll walk you through the easy ways to map nearby cameras.

Listen on Komando.com →

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Clear your Amazon search history to hide gifts or questionable clicks. On desktop, under Hello, [Your Name], click Browsing History. Find the item you want and select Remove from view or click here.

ICYMI: If you didn’t get a chance to tune in this past weekend, don’t sweat it. The podcast version of my show is ready when you are. Just press play and pretend it’s live. I won’t tell. Catch the show on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts.

🍏 Record your own iPhone tutorials: Tired of family asking you how to do things on their phones? Open Control Center and tap the Screen Recording icon (white dot inside a circle) to make a video with your voice. To include audio, long-press the icon and turn the mic on.

🔍 New way to reverse-search images: Windows 11’s Snipping Tool lets you look up what’s in a photo. Open the app, click + New with the camera icon, and snip the part you want. When it opens, right-click and choose Visual Search with Bing. Your browser will show matches for who or what’s in the image.

Feel like AI’s moving faster than you can keep up? You’re not alone, but you can catch up. Grab “Demystifying AI” for free. Glenn Hopper gives a great intro to AI, core concepts and the tech that fuels it.*

Russia rolled out its much-hyped humanoid robot “AIDOL” with dramatic flair, theme from Rocky blasting, lights flashing, a real moment. Then it tripped over its own circuits and crashed face into the floor, sending limbs flying like it was built by IKEA.

Sure, AIDOL walks like a human, if that human is your tipsy aunt doing the Electric Slide after two glasses of boxed rosé. Engineers promised cutting-edge AI and grace. Instead, they delivered a viral pratfall.

Hang in there, AIDOL. We’ve all had those days.

📺 The answer: B) Your cable/streaming TV box. Yup, that humble little rectangle silently slurps up more electricity than your fridge. Even when it’s “off,” it’s lurking, pulling power like it’s training for the energy Olympics. Want to stop the suck? Plug it into a smart power strip and give it the digital boot overnight.

One for the road: What did little Johnny’s mother do when she caught him zapping the other children with static electricity? She grounded him. (Oh that was so bad, it was good!)

Too rich to care? I’m not. I switched to Consumer Cellular and am saving a ton. No gimmicks, no games, just honest pricing and reliable coverage. Save $25 when you switch with code KIM25.

Tomorrow, there’s a secret power-user layer baked into your gadgets that most folks never see. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill tips. This is the #1 free tech newsletter in the United States.

📈 You aren’t the same person you were a year ago. That’s not a flaw, that’s a software update. — Kim

📣 Don’t keep me a secret: Send your friends to GetKim.com

Photo credit(s): Gemini, FRTONYI, Agency of City News-Moscow

Companies noted with an asterisk (*) sponsor my national radio show. Also, as an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

**These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual results may vary.

This newsletter and its content are intended for informational purposes only. They are provided without warranty of any kind. You shouldn’t construe anything provided here as legal, health, medical, technical, tax, investment, financial or any other kind of advice.

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